Late Universe Research Articles

The S8 tension in light of updated redshift-space distortion data and PAge approximation

One of the most prominent challenges to the standard Lambda cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology is the tension between the structure growth parameter $S_8$ constrained by the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and the smaller one suggested by the cosmic shear data. Recent studies show that, for $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, redshift-space distortion (RSD) data also prefers a smaller $S_8$ that is $\sim 2$-$3\sigma$ lower than the CMB value, but the result is sensitive to the cosmological model. In the present work we update the RSD constraint on $S_8$ with the most up-to-date RSD data set where the correlation between data points are properly taken into account. To reduce the model dependence, we add in our Monte Carlo Markov Chain calculation the most up-to-date data sets of Type Ia supernovae (SN) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), whose correlation with RSD is also taken into account, to constrain the background geometry. For $\Lambda$CDM cosmology we find $S_8= 0.812 \pm 0.026$, which is $\sim 2\sigma$ larger than previous studies, and hence is consistent with the CMB constraint. By replacing $\Lambda$CDM with the Parameterization based on cosmic Age (PAge), an almost model-independent description of the late universe, we find that the RSD + SN + BAO constraint on $S_8$ is insensitive to the cosmological model.

Thermal Axions: What’s next?

Scattering and decay processes of thermal bath particles in the early universe can dump relativistic axions in the primordial plasma. If produced with a significant abundance, their presence can leave observable signatures in cosmological observables probing both the early and the late universe. We focus on the QCD axion and present recent and significant improvements for the calculation of the axion production rate across the different energy scales during the expansion of the universe. We apply these rates to predict the abundance of produced axions and to derive the latest cosmological bounds on the axion mass and couplings.

Testing Backreaction Effects with Type Ia Supernova Data and Observational Hubble Parameterdata

The backreaction term ${\cal Q}_\CD$ and the averaged spatial Ricci scalar $\average{\CR}$ in the spatially averaged inhomogeneous Universe can be used to combine into effective perfect fluid energy density $\varrho_{\rm eff}^{\CD}$ and pressure $p_{\rm eff}^{\CD}$ that can be regarded as new effective sources for the backreaction effects. In order to model the realistic evolution of backreaction, we adopt the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder(CPL) parameterizations of the equation of state(EoS) of the effective perfect fluid. To deal with observations in the backreaction context, in this paper, we employ two metrics to describe the the late time Universe, one of them is the standard Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker(FLRW) metric, and the other is a template metric with an evolving curvature parameter introduced by Larena et. al. in \cite{larena2009testing}. We also fit the CPL backreaction model using type Ia supernova(SN Ia) data and observational Hubble parameter data(OHD) with these two metrics, and find out that parameter tensions between two different data sets are larger when the backreaction model is equipped with the template metric, therefore we conclude that the prescription of the geometrical instantaneous spatially-constant curvature $\kappa_{\CD}$ needs to be modified.

Nonparametric modeling of cosmological database on the χ2 distribution

In the $\Lambda$CDM model, cosmological observations from the late and recent universe reveal a puzzling $\sim 4.5\sigma$ tension in the current rate of universe expansion. In addition to the various scenarios suggested to resolve the tension, non-parametric modeling may provide useful insights. In this paper, we look at three well-known non-parametric methods, the smoothing method, the genetic algorithm, and the Gaussian process. Considering these three methods, we employ the recent Hubble parameters data to reconstruct the rate of universe expansion and supernovae Pantheon sample to reconstruct the luminosity distance. In contrast to the similar studies in the literature, the chi-squared distribution has been used to construct a reliable criterion to select a reconstruction. Finally, we compute the current rate of universe expansion ($H_0$) for each method, provide some discussions regarding the performance of each approach, and compare the results.

Smallest remnants of early matter domination

The evolution of the universe prior to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis could have gone through a phase of early matter domination which enhanced the growth of small-scale dark matter structure. If this period was long enough, self-gravitating objects formed prior to reheating. We study the evolution of these dense early halos through reheating. At the end of early matter domination, the early halos undergo rapid expansion and eventually eject their matter. We find that this process washes out structure on scales much larger than naively expected from the size of the original halos. We compute the density profiles of the early halo remnants and use them to construct late-time power spectra that include these non-linear effects.We evolve the resulting power spectrum to estimate the properties of microhalos that would form after matter-radiation equality.Surprisingly, cosmologies with a short period of early matter domination lead to an earlier onset of microhalo formation compared to those with a long period. In either case, dark matter structure formation begins much earlier than in the standard cosmology, with most dark matter bound in microhalos in the late universe.

Testing Primordial Black Holes with multi-band observations of the stochastic gravitational wave background

The mass distribution of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) is affected by drops in the pressure of the early Universe plasma. For example, events in the standard model of particle physics, such as the W ±/Z 0 decoupling, the quark-hadron transition, the muon and pion becoming non-relativistic, and the annihilation of electrons and positrons, cause a suppression in the Equation of State parameter and leave peaks in the PBH mass function around 10-6, 2, 60, and 106 M ☉, respectively, in the case of a nearly scale-invariant primordial power spectrum. The superposition of unresolved mergers of such PBHs results in a stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) that covers a wide range of frequencies and can be tested with future gravitational wave (GW) detectors. In this paper, we discuss how its spectral shape can be used to infer properties about inflation, the thermal history of the Universe, and the dynamics of binary formation in dense halos encoded in their merger rate formula. Although many of these physical effects are degenerate within the sensitivity of a single detector, they can be disentangled by the simultaneous observation of the SGWB at different frequencies, highlighting the importance of multi-frequency observations of GWs to characterize the physics of PBHs from the early to the late time Universe.

Forging precision cosmological probes of exploring the late universe via gravitational-wave and radio astronomy

Forging precision cosmological probes of exploring the late universe via gravitational-wave and radio astronomy

Neutrino interactions in the late universe

The cosmic neutrino background is both a dramatic prediction of the hot Big Bang and a compelling target for current and future observations. The impact of relativistic neutrinos in the early universe has been observed at high significance in a number of cosmological probes. In addition, the non-zero mass of neutrinos alters the growth of structure at late times, and this signature is a target for a number of upcoming surveys. These measurements are sensitive to the physics of the neutrino and could be used to probe physics beyond the standard model in the neutrino sector. We explore an intriguing possibility where light right-handed neutrinos are coupled to all, or a fraction of, the dark matter through a mediator. In a wide range of parameter space, this interaction only becomes important at late times and is uniquely probed by late-time cosmological observables. Due to this coupling, the dark matter and neutrinos behave as a single fluid with a non-trivial sound speed, leading to a suppression of power on small scales. In current and near-term cosmological surveys, this signature is equivalent to an increase in the sum of the neutrino masses. Given current limits, we show that at most 0.5% of the dark matter could be coupled to neutrinos in this way.

Dark sector to restore cosmological concordance

We develop a new phenomenological model that addresses current tensions between observations of the early and late Universe. Our scenario features: (i) a decaying dark energy fluid (DDE), which undergoes a transition at $z \sim 5,000$, to raise today's value of the Hubble parameter -- addressing the $H_0$ tension, and (ii) an ultra-light axion (ULA), which starts oscillating at $z\gtrsim 10^4$, to suppress the matter power spectrum -- addressing the $S_8$ tension. Our Markov Chain Monte Carlo analyses show that such a Dark Sector model fits a combination of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, and Large Scale Structure (LSS) data slightly better than the $\Lambda$CDM model, while importantly reducing both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions with late universe probes ($\lesssim 3\sigma$). Combined with measurements from cosmic shear surveys, we find that the discrepancy on $S_8$ is reduced to the $1.4\sigma$ level, and the value of $H_0$ is further raised. Adding local supernovae measurements, we find that the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions are reduced to the $1.4\sigma$ and $1.2\sigma$ level respectively, with a significant improvement $\Delta\chi^2\simeq -18$ compared to the $\Lambda$CDM model. With this complete dataset, the DDE and ULA are detected at $\simeq 4\sigma$ and $\simeq2\sigma$, respectively. We discuss a possible particle physics realization of this model, with a dark confining gauge sector and its associated axion, although embedding the full details within microphysics remains an urgent open question. Our scenario will be decisively probed with future CMB and LSS surveys.

Multi-interacting dark energy and its cosmological implications

In the effort to define the main features a successful solution to the Hubble tension should have, growing evidence has emerged pointing to the need for models able to modify the expansion (and possibly thermal) history of the universe both prior and after recombination, and that could thereby restore the overall concordance between early- and late-time observations without introducing nor worsening other cosmological tensions in the process. In precisely this spirit, here we consider a multi-interacting dark energy model with two complementary interaction channels: one with the dark matter and one with the photons. The former most significantly affects the matter dominated epoch as well as the very late universe, and has been shown to be able to significantly resolve the $S_8$ tension. The latter has been introduced in this work to allow for a larger and natural time dependence of the evolution of the universe since it mostly impacts the radiation dominated epoch as well as the temperature scaling of the photons, as extensively explained in the text. As a result, considering data from Planck+BAO+Pantheon+KV450+DES (which can be combined since the $S_8$ value is lowered even neglecting the weak lensing data) we find that the significance of the $H_0$ tension only reduces to about 3.5$\sigma$, while that of the $S_8$ tension falls below the 2$\sigma$ level. Also, the statistical analysis we perform strongly favors $\Lambda$CDM in all considered cases. Overall, we conclude that the specific multi-interacting dark energy model considered here, despite its broad generality and very rich cosmological phenomenology, cannot successfully restore the aforementioned overall concordance between early- and late-time observations.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the late Universe and glimpses of the early Universe phase transitions à la baryogenesis

Spontaneous symmetry breaking is the foundation of electroweak unification and serves as an integral part of the model building beyond the standard model of particle physics and it also finds interesting applications in the late Universe. We review development related to obtaining the late cosmic acceleration from spontaneous symmetry breaking in the Universe at large scales. This phenomenon is best understood through Ginzburg–Landau theory of phase transitions which we briefly describe. Hereafter, we present elements of spontaneous symmetry breaking in relativistic field theory. We then discuss the “symmetron” scenario-based upon symmetry breaking in the late Universe which is realized by using a specific form of conformal coupling. However, the model is faced with “NO GO” for late-time acceleration due to local gravity constraints. We argue that the problem can be circumvented by using the massless [Formula: see text] theory coupled to massive neutrino matter. As for the early Universe, spontaneous symmetry breaking finds its interesting applications in the study of electroweak phase transition. To this effect, we first discuss in detail the Ginzburg–Landau theory of first-order phase transitions and then apply it to electroweak phase transition including technical discussions on bubble nucleation and sphaleron transitions. We provide a pedagogical exposition of dynamics of electroweak phase transition and emphasize the need to go beyond the standard model of particle physics for addressing the baryogenesis problem. Review ends with a brief discussion on Affleck–Dine mechanism and spontaneous baryogenesis. Appendixes include technical details on essential ingredients of baryogenesis, sphaleron solution, one-loop finite temperature effective potential and dynamics of bubble nucleation.

Can the Hubble tension be resolved by bulk viscosity?

We show that the cosmic bulk viscosity estimated in our previous works is sufficient to bridge the [Formula: see text] value inferred from observations of the early universe with the value inferred from the local (late) universe.

Tensions between measurements of the Hubble constant from the early and late Universe

Hubble constant (H0) is one of the most important parameters in cosmology. There are mainly two ways to determine the value of Hubble constant, which measure the properties of early universe and the late universe, namely cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Those who had used these two methods to measure the Hubble constant won the Nobel Prize in Physics respectively, in 1978 and 2011. This article introduces the principle of accelerating universe and the methods to measure the Hubble constant. We analyze each method and discuss the uncertainties of them. In addition, we investigate possible reasons for Hubble constant discrepancy based on previous studies. We discuss about the conclusion and prospects of Hubble constant measurement.

Backreaction in Cosmology

In this review, we investigate the question of backreaction in different approaches to cosmological perturbation theory, and with a special focus on quantum theoretical aspects. By backreaction we refer here to the effects of matter field or cosmological inhomogeneities on the homogeneous dynamical background degrees of freedom of cosmology. We begin with an overview of classical cosmological backreaction which is ideally suited for physical situations in the late time Universe. We then proceed backwards in time, considering semiclassical approaches such as semiclassical or stochastic (semiclassical) gravity which take quantum effects of the perturbations into account. Finally, we review approaches to backreaction in quantum cosmology that should apply to the very early Universe where classical and semiclassical approximations break down. The main focus is on a recently proposed implementation of backreaction in quantum cosmology using a Born–Oppenheimer inspired method.

Evidence of dark energy in different cosmological observations

The idea of a negative-pressure dark energy component in the Universe which causes an accelerated expansion in the late Universe has deep implications in models of field theory and general relativity. In this article, we survey the evidence for dark energy from cosmological observations which started from the compilation of distance-luminosity plots of Type Ia supernovae. This turned out to be consistent with the dark energy inferred from the CMB observations and large scale surveys and gave rise to the concordance $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology. In this article, we discuss the observational evidence for dark energy from Type Ia supernovae, CMB, galaxy surveys, observations of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect from clusters, and lensing by clusters. We also discuss the observational discrepancy in the values of $H_0$ and $\sigma_8$ between CMB and large scale structures and discuss if varying dark energy models are able to resolve these tensions between different observations.

SMBH seeds from dissipative dark matter

The existence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses greater than ∼ 109 M ☉ at high redshift (z ≳ 7) is difficult to accommodate in standard astrophysical scenarios. We study the possibility that (nearly) totally dissipative self-interacting dark matter (tdSIDM)–in rare, high density dark matter fluctuations in the early Universe — produces SMBH seeds through catastrophic collapse. We use a semi-analytic model, tested and calibrated by a series of N-body simulations of isolated dark matter halos, to compute the collapse criteria and timescale of tdSIDM halos, where dark matter loses nearly all of its kinetic energy in a single collision in the center-of-momentum frame. Applying this model to halo merger trees, we empirically assign SMBH seeds to halos and trace the formation and evolution history of SMBHs. We make predictions for the quasar luminosity function, the M BH-σv * relation, and cosmic SMBH mass density at high redshift and compare them to observations. We find that a dissipative dark matter interaction cross-section of σ/m ∼ 0.05 cm2/g is sufficient to produce the SMBHs observed in the early Universe while remaining consistent with ordinary SMBHs in the late Universe.

Terrestrial probes of electromagnetically interacting dark radiation

We study the possibility that dark radiation, sourced through the decay of dark matter in the late Universe, carries electromagnetic interactions. The relativistic flux of particles induces recoil signals in direct detection and neutrino experiments through its interaction with millicharge, electric/magnetic dipole moments, or anapole moment/charge radius. Taking the DM lifetime as 35 times the age of the Universe, as currently cosmologically allowed, we show that direct detection (neutrino) experiments have complementary sensitivity down to $\epsilon\sim 10^{-11}$ $(10^{-12})$, $d_\chi/\mu_\chi \sim 10^{-9}\,\mu_B$ $(10^{-13}\mu_B)$, and $a_\chi/b_\chi \sim 10^{-2}\,{\rm GeV}^{-2}$ $(10^{-8}\,{\rm GeV}^{-2})$ on the respective couplings. Finally, we show that such dark radiation can lead to a satisfactory explanation of the recently observed XENON1T excess in the electron recoil signal without being in conflict with other bounds.

A fast semidiscrete optimal transport algorithm for a unique reconstruction of the early Universe

ABSTRACT We leverage powerful mathematical tools stemming from optimal transport theory and transform them into an efficient algorithm to reconstruct the fluctuations of the primordial density field, built on solving the Monge-Ampère-Kantorovich equation. Our algorithm computes the optimal transport between an initial uniform continuous density field, partitioned into Laguerre cells, and a final input set of discrete point masses, linking the early to the late Universe. While existing early universe reconstruction algorithms based on fully discrete combinatorial methods are limited to a few hundred thousand points, our algorithm scales up well beyond this limit, since it takes the form of a well-posed smooth convex optimization problem, solved using a Newton method. We run our algorithm on cosmological N-body simulations, from the AbacusCosmos suite, and reconstruct the initial positions of $\mathcal {O}(10^7)$ particles within a few hours with an off-the-shelf personal computer. We show that our method allows a unique, fast, and precise recovery of subtle features of the initial power spectrum, such as the baryonic acoustic oscillations.

Constraints on dark matter to dark radiation conversion in the late universe with DES-Y1 and external data

We study a phenomenological class of models where dark matter converts to dark radiation in the low redshift epoch. This class of models, dubbed DMDR, characterizes the evolution of comoving dark matter density with two extra parameters, and may be able to help alleviate the observed discrepancies between early- and late-time probes of the universe. We investigate how the conversion affects key cosmological observables such as the CMB temperature and matter power spectra. Combining 3x2pt data from Year 1 of the Dark Energy Survey, {\it Planck}-2018 CMB temperature and polarization data, supernovae (SN) Type Ia data from Pantheon, and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data from BOSS DR12, MGS and 6dFGS, we place new constraints on the amount of dark matter that has converted to dark radiation and the rate of this conversion. The fraction of the dark matter that has converted since the beginning of the universe in units of the current amount of dark matter, $\zeta$, is constrained at 68\% confidence level to be $<0.32$ for DES-Y1 3x2pt data, $<0.030$ for CMB+SN+BAO data, and $<0.037$ for the combined dataset. The probability that the DES and CMB+SN+BAO datasets are concordant increases from 4\% for the $\Lambda$CDM model to 8\% (less tension) for DMDR. The tension in $S_8 = \sigma_8 \sqrt{\Omega_{\rm m}/0.3}$ between DES-Y1 3x2pt and CMB+SN+BAO is slightly reduced from $2.3\sigma$ to $1.9\sigma$. We find no reduction in the Hubble tension when the combined data is compared to distance-ladder measurements in the DMDR model. The maximum-posterior goodness-of-fit statistics of DMDR and $\Lambda$CDM model are comparable, indicating no preference for the DMDR cosmology over $\Lambda$CDM.

Multi-messenger astrophysics with the cosmic neutrino background

The massive neutrinos of the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CνB) are fundamental ingredients of the radiation-dominated early universe and are important non-relativistic probes of the large-scale structure formation in the late universe. The dominant source of anisotropies in the neutrino flux distribution on the sky are highly amplified integrals of metric perturbations encountered during the non-relativistic phase of the CνB. This paper numerically compares the line-of-sight methods for computing CνB anisotropies with the Einstein-Boltzmann hierarchy solutions in linear theory for a range of neutrino masses. Angular power spectra are computed that are relevant to a future polarized tritium target run of the PTOLEMY experiment. Correlations between the CνB sky maps and galactic survey data are derived using line-of-sight techniques and discussed in the context of multi-messenger astrophysics.